Prince Philip’s Mum Had a Habit

Prince Philip of England’s upbringing was far from normal. He was born June 10, 1921, on a kitchen table on the Greek island of Corfu in a house that had no electricity, hot water, or indoor plumbing. The only son and fifth and final child of Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark was christened Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark. The platinum blond toddler learned sign language to communicate with his deaf mother.

Prince Philip (center) with parents, ca. 1923 (Lisa’s History Room)

Prince Philip of Greece’s father was a professional soldier in the Greek Army. When Turkey invaded Greece in 1922, Prince Andrew was accused of treason; he was tried, convicted, and jailed and faced possible execution by firing squad. Princess Alice (known as Princess Andrew to English speakers) appealed to her British relative, King George V, for help. Remembering what had happened to his Russian cousin the Tsar when he had refused his cry for rescue, the King quickly dispatched the HMS Calypso to remove Andrew, his wife, their four daughters, and Baby Philip from Greece. Prince Andrew boarded the ship carrying his 18-month-old son in an orange crate. They sailed for France.

For the next eight years, Prince Philip’s family lived in exile in Paris. Philip learned to speak English, French, and German, but no Greek. His family was royal – but not rich – and depended upon the charity of relatives and friends to feed, house, clothe, and educate them while in exile from their mother country.

Prince Philip of England’s family poses for a photograph October 1928. A young Prince Philip stands to the right of his mother, Princess Alice and Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. From left to right are Philip’s sisters, all Princesses of Greece & Denmark: Margarita, Theodora, Sophie, and Cecilie.

In 1930-31, the family fell completely apart. All four of Philip’s sisters, who were educated in Germany, married German noblemen and moved to Germany. Then Prince Andrew abandoned his wife and Philip and ran off to live with his mistress on her yacht anchored in the Mediterranean off Monte Carlo where Andrew quickly became addicted to the gaming tables.

Philip’s mother collapsed under the strain. She suffered a nervous breakdown and was institutionalized in Switzerland at the famed Bellevue Sanatorium. That left little Philip all alone in Paris, with no one to care for him. He was only nine.

Philip was then sent to England to be cared for by his maternal grandmother. But then she died. Next he moved in with his Uncle George, who, by 1938, was dead also. Philip was 17 at the time.

Then another of his maternal uncles, Lord Louis Mountbatten, British sea lord and the last Viceroy of India stepped in and took Philip under his wing. “Uncle Dickie” took an intense interest in his promising nephew. He made grand plans for him.

Prince Philip as a young midshipman in the Royal Navy, ca. late 1930s

Even though Philip was a Greek citizen, Uncle Dickie pulled a few strings so that Philip could join the Royal Navy as a midshipman. Then Uncle Dickie began to pave the way for Philip to marry the future Queen of England. In 1939, he arranged for Philip to entertain King George VI‘s two daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, while the King and Queen Elizabeth toured Dartmouth Naval College.

When Princess Elizabeth met Philip, she was only 13. She fell head-over-heels in love with the tall, handsome, and athletic young man. The two became pen pals and wrote constantly to one another during the next six years of world war. He celebrated the Christmas of 1943 with her and her family at their Scottish estate, Balmoral. The press hailed the romance as the love match of the century.

In this July, 1951 photo (a year before King George VI’s death and Princess Elizabeth’s ascension to the British throne), Princess Elizabeth and her mother, Queen Elizabeth, arrive at Westminster Abbey to attend the wedding of Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott to Mr. Ian Hedworth Gilmour. Princess Elizabeth’s mother – who styled herself “Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother,” after her daughter became Queen Elizabeth II – had a fussy, overdressed sense of fashion. Her hats were generally broadbrimmed, trimmed in lace or swaths of chiffon, or piled high with feathers. Her neckline was often V-shaped and adorned with her trademark triple strand of pearls. Her dresses were feminine, flirty, and accented by enormous brooches and rings. As she aged, she dressed in fruity colors like pink, lime, and yellow. Her dresses and hats always matched in color. Her girlish style, peaches-and-cream complexion, pudginess, and sunny smile suggested a sweetness and wholesomeness that made her extremely popular at home and abroad. The Queen Mother, nee Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, died in her sleep in 2002 at the age of 101. (Lisa’s History Room)

It was no surprise when, on July 9, 1947, the Palace announced that Prince Philip of Greece and Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain were officially engaged. Philip was 26; Elizabeth, 21. The wedding was set for November 20, 1947, at Westminster Abbey. The King and Queen were not wild about the idea of Elizabeth marrying before the age of 25, but it didn’t matter what they wanted. Elizabeth wanted Philip and she was going to have him.

Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain and Prince Philip of Greece announce their engagement, July 9, 1947. (Lisa’s History Room)

Buckingham Palace shifted into high gear planning the royal wedding:

“This was not simple a marriage ceremony, but an affair of state that would focus world attention on the British monarchy. Consequently the King and Queen told him [Prince Philip] that his sisters and their German husbands, some of whom had supported Hitler’s Third Reich, could not possibly be included. So they remained in Germany and listened to the service on the radio.” (1)

Still focused on the guest list, the Queen addressed the issue of Philip’s mother, Princess Andrew, whom she considered “pleasant but odd.” Although Philip’s mother had had nothing to do with Philip since he was 9, Princess Andrew had nevertheless been quite busy while others raised her son. After several years of Swiss therapy in the early 1930s, she had rejoined society and taken up charitable works. During WWII, she saved a Jewish family named Cohen from being sent to the death camp by sheltering them in her Greek home.

After the war, Princess Andrew founded a religious order called the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary dedicated to helping the sick and the needy in Greece. Princess Andrew became a nun, taking a vow of celibacy, although she had born 5 children. She had a habit – a nun’s habit – that she wore all the time. It consisted of a drab gray robe, white wimple, cord, and rosary beads. She was commonly referred to as “Sister Andrew.”

Queen Elizabeth was understandably terrified that Princess Andrew would show up at the wedding at Westminster Abbey wearing her nun’s habit and embarrassing the family in a large way. The Queen pressed the issue with Philip. As a result, Princess Andrew appeared at her son’s wedding wearing a demure hat and a simple silk dress, which the Queen later described as “very pretty and most appropriate.”

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip marry on November 20, 1947

Six years later King George VI was dead. Elizabeth and Philip returned to Westminster Abbey for Elizabeth to be crowned Queen.

The coronation was held on June 2, 1953 and televised, at Elizabeth’s request, so that all her subjects could see her crowned. Twenty million viewers watched the seven-hour BBC-TV marathon. The ceremony began as the guests began their stately procession down the long aisle of Westminster Abbey, ahead of the Queen, to take their seats.

Prince Philip’s mother was among the guests. She turned heads as she processed up the aisle wearing a long grey dress and a flowing head-dress that looked remarkably like a nun’s habit!She had had it especially made for the coronation.

Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, Prince Philip’s mother (bottom left) processes down the aisle of Westminster Abbey for her daughter-in-law Elizabeth’s coronation as Queen Regnant of Great Britain. June 1953. Princess Andrew is dressed in an outfit resembling her usual attire – a nun’s habit. (Lisa’s History Room)

Princess Andrew, 1965

Princess Andrew died at Buckingham Palace in 1969. According to her wishes, she was buried in Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. On October 31, 1994, Princess Andrew’s two surviving children, Prince Philip and Sophie, Princess George of Hanover, went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial, in Jerusalem to witness a ceremony honouring their mother. Princess Andrew was called “Righteous among the Nations” for having hidden a Jewish family in her home in Athens during WWII.

80 Responses

I knew Phillip’s role as Queen’s Consort would understandably make him a bit obscure within Britain and the House of Windsor, but I had no idea his youth was so detached from normalcy– even a royal variation of normalcy.

Being a grandmother I suddenly wondered about the Queen’s childrens grandparents on Phillip’s side…I had no idea about this history and about Phillip’s life before Elizabeth. The story touched my heart.

I was re-reading this post and suddenly I was struck by the contrast of Phillip’s life before marriage into British royalty with the childhoods of others who married into British royalty– namely, Diana and Fergie. I’ve never known of Phillip complaining of “the Royal way” as those two did. He must have been awed as a young man how he, such a thrown away child of such a dysfunctional household, could have become the great love of the heir to the British throne.

Norma, I think I am not alone in believing that Princess Alice – in a nun’s habit – called quite a bit of attention to herself at Elizabeth’s coronation. I have met quite a few women like Princess Alice, steeped in the public glory of helping the world’s poor while neglecting their own flesh and blood. I feel sorry for Phillip, who got a rotten set of parents. Princess Alice was mentally ill but her charitable works and claims of mystical experiences made people think she was “holy” rather than severely deranged and lacking judgment.

I do believe that the above story indicates that Princess Alice wore a simple silk dress and hat to the Royal Couples’ wedding. Whatever her reasons for desiring a simple life in later years…I do not believe she can be held respon sible for her mental breakdown after her husband’s infidelity.

Katy, we all make choices and Prince Philip’s mother did, too. The ones she made were selfish. I feel sorry for the childhood misery she inflicted on Philip. I feel resentment for her abandonment of her family in favor of taking on more public causes that reaped her public acclaim. Raising a family well is quiet business with precious few public rewards. There are many among us who neglect that critical work and Alice was one of them. She sought the limelight. Why else would she put on a martyr’s outfit and appear at the coronation so dressed? She was an attention-seeking hound with delusions. It was Elizabeth’s day to shine. No wedding attendee in good conscience wears an outfit that distracts from the bride’s. And Alice was Elizabeth’s mother-in-law! She knew better.

Lisa, above in the original post you wrote that she wore the strange outfit to the coronation, not the wedding. Read through the post again. Remember at the wedding she wore a “demure hat and a simple silk dress” that Elizbeth approved of. I am not saying the woman was or was not a kook, just wanted to point out the conflicting info.

I enjoyed the article but not your comments about Princess Alice. She was a remarkable woman and did a lot of good to her adopted country, Greece, feeding the poor and nursing the wounded during World War I and I believe World War II. She did not abbandon her family since all her daughters were married and it was actually her husband who left her and her son! When she decided to convert to the Orthodox faith, common in Greece, rumors of her mental illness were spread and her own mother plotted to take her by force into an institution in Switzerland, while her young son was away. She tried to escape but was kept like a prisoner. She suffered much in Greece due to the Balkan wars, WWI and finally they had to leave Greece in exile, so it is only natural that in her circumstances she suffered of post-drammatic stress system like many soldiers or people in similar circumstances…

Alice the nun was excellent l
Parent. Andrew and girls and alice ‘s. mom were the. Cruelest to destroy alice and separate her beloved son Philip!!! She still had loved him to her death and she inspired to the world. ThAt she got her calling . She is 100 percent sane princess! Stupid. Alice’s hubby and daughters did not care about her ! I admired alice for her silence and gave a heart to help withthe charity. Philip should be proud of his beloved mom !

Princess Alice was hospitalized against her wishes, almost by force. She never chose to be away from her children. After being ‘treated’, as was usual in those days, with electric shock, cold water baths and similar ‘remedies’ she felt too damaged to return to ‘normalcy’. Her charity was like an outlet of sorts to her, yes, but seems to have been genuine.
Also, a slight correction – she wore an habit, maybe it would be more proper to call it a costume, of a nun, but she was never actually a nun, i.e., took no vows (btw, nuns take a vow of chastity, as do monks, not celibacy) and was never technically a member of any congregation. She could never join a Greek Orthodox convent for two reasons: she was a widow and mentally ill. The first obstacle could be set aside for a Princess, but the second never could. Also, she was a convert and she would not be received into any convent with open arms. But, as she was a Princess, she was allowed her little eccentricities. Note that she was addressed Sister, not Mother, as Orthodox nuns are usually addressed.

I find little resemblance between Prince Harry and his brother Prince William. There’s been speculation of Prince Harry not being Prince Charles’ son, so I have wondered about that, also.
I placed a head shot of Prince Harry alongside that one of the young Prince Philip, and the resemblance is remarkable, to say the least. Try it, you’ll see what I mean.
No more speculation for me, especially when that of Prince Harry’s red hair enters the picture. It is a genetic strain on his mother’s side and not attributable to one of Princess Diana’s lovers.
As for Prince William, it then can be determined that it is he who bears little facial resemblance to the rest of the Royal Family, even though his parentage is not under question.

So I have read else where, yet somewhere I saw a photo of a very young Prince Phillip and it reminded me of Harry. And not too long ago I saw a picture of Prince Phillip’s father and his brothers and I’m not sure if I remember correctly which one it was, but I think it was Phillip’s dad who looked a bit like Harry. Though he does seem to get his coloring from his mum’s family. Though it is funny, I’ve always been told,since I was a very small girl that I look like my Dad.We have the same coloring, eyes and hair, yet a few years ago I bumped into an old neighbor who I hadn’t seem in years and he told me how he couldn’t get over how much I look like my mum. This totally startled me because my mum is much darker in eye and hair coloring than me. Yet in the last few years I’ve noticed I do have mum’s facial expressions and I can now see how some folks see me as looking like mum. Though it does still amaze me a bit. So I guess at some point each of us looks a bit like one or another of our relatives.

Yep, I have seen online a black and white photo of phill when he was 11 years old. I thought it was Harry but then had to check myself because it was an old black and white photo and it couldn’t be possible.

I loved reading about Prince Phillip’s early years although I was 10 years old when he and Princess Elizabeth married and have read as much as I could find about the the family. I knew that there was some Nazi scandal about his family, but I never understood what it was or that his sisters were married to German military/aristocracy. Nor did I know about his kookie father and his brave though mentally problemed mom. I can sympathize with her because I have known that same kind of hurt of being abandoned by a so-called life partner.

If you look at Prince Phillip’s smile in the engagement photo with Princess Elizabeth I think you will see William’s smile reflected there. I can see both Elizabeth, Phillip, Charles and Diana in William.

I do see both the Montbattens and the Spencers in Harry. He’s so darned cute that he doesn’t have to resemble anyone except himself! I know it will never happen but I would so like to see Harry marry Pippa! (OK, I’m a crazy fairy-tale believer. LOL)

I think it should be noted that the Sisterhood of Martha and Mary was founded, after the assassination of her husband, uncle to the last Tzar, in 1905 by Grand-Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, sister to Phillip’s grandmother –both princesses of Hesse of the same era like the last Tzarina — and thus Princess Alice’s aunt. “Ella” like her husband was brutally assassinated east of the Urals by revolutionaries, with other members of the Russian imperial family near the same time as the Imperial family.

A loyal follower was eventually able to remove her body and accompany it to the same resting place in Jerusalem as Princesse Alice chose so we see the connection. The Grand Duchess was considered very beautiful and we can see the same in the earlier pictures of Princesse Alice, even when she was no longer in the first flush of youth during Prince Phillip’s infancy.

In case we Americans feel we have no connection to aristo’s, royals and semi-royals, the Grand Duchess helped to raise her nephew whose son became the much-liked and respect mayor of Palm Beach who has only recently passed away(in terms of my 69 years) , a lovely man and former US Marine in whose company I was only priviledged to be once.

If we will think back before the time of women working and to the isolation of both aristos and the deaf, and consider a royal princess in her “forties,” impaired in her hearing and deserted by a feckless husband, virtually on the dole from cousins, perhaps we would feel more charitable towards the prior Princesse Alice of Battenberg, great grand-daughter to Queen Victoria, who was herself deprived of her mother at a young age and yet was recognised as a Righteous Gentile for the very great risk she assumed to save a family during the Hollocaust. How could this bravery and commitment to right-thinking few of us would reach out to in peril of our lives exist in a “kook”? (It was another member of the Hessian family by marriage, Mafalda of Savoy and Hesse, who perished in a concentation camp largely because of only her identity.)

It is good that the questions persons might ask about Prince Phillip’s early life, during the Queen’s year of celebration of her great length of time and achievements on the throne, are being made easier to answer by a recent book publication and blogs such as this.

Lisa, the lack of depth in your analysis of Princess Alice is quite astonishing. I LOVE Adrienne Bliss Brown’s compelling account of the life of this remarkable woman who was Deaf and had many challenges. You have a hard time with her “wearing that garb to the royal wedding”? Please !!!

Why does this keep being said? Remember…per your piece, she wore a “demure hat and simple silk dress” to the wedding. The weird outfit was at the CORONATION. But either way, yes, it was an attention-seeking act. She wore appropriate attire to the wedding, so she could’ve done the same for the coronation, in my opinion.

hello, in the photo of princess alice leading her family out of the abbey at the coronation, who are the people behind her? were they philips sisters and their husbands? because i didnt think they would be invited? regards

No, I believe those in that picture are not Prince Philip’s sisters and / or their husbands. In the official biography of the Queen Mother (Queen Elizabeth) released by Buckingham place, it says that due to the growing tensions between Britain and Germany at that time, all of Philip’s sisters and Brother-in-laws were not invited, as they feared a public outcry. Also, they believed that the emergence of new kind of journalism which was seen during Edward VIII abdication, was not something that they were used to, and hence they did not want to jeopardize the Royalty by feeding fodder into this Britain-German tensions by inviting his relatives (Hope this helps :-))

Prince Philip’s mother was obviously catholic if she went by the name of “Sister Andrew”, & most likely the Queen Mother didn’t want people to think her daughter was marrying into a catholic family since Catholics we’re barred from marrying a British Monarch at that time, even though Philip converted from Greek Orthodox to the Church of England. And quite frankly, I would have worn it to their wedding as well. Plus I would have put the Queen Mother in her place.

Interesting read. I wonder though, why was it only Philip who seems to have been “lost” in the parents’ drama? Was the family life ok before Philip came into the picture?

Was it a happy family life with just the daughters? Did, perhaps, the four daughters help keep the house-hold or family unit together? Could it have been the loss of her four daughters, married and out of the house, that began a down-ward spiral for Princess Andrew? And that that in turn sent her husband into the arms of another?

And was a despondent Princess, once sent away, to lose interest in a son? But I think I’ve read that she missed her son desperately when she was first “put away”?

There are orders of nuns in the Greek and Russian Orthodox churches, as well as in the Episcopal church (Church of England). Not all nuns are Roman Catholic (you’re right, that would have ruffled British feathers, had Princess Andrew been a Catholic nun — but she wasn’t). Interestingly, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband invited Princess Andrew to live with them in her final years, which she did. Her remains were later moved from Windsor to Jerusalem to be with those of her beloved Aunt Ella at the Mt of Olives church.

The article implies that Philip’s maternal grandmother died some time before 1938. That is not correct. His maternal grandmother, the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven (neé Princess Victoria of Hesse), died in 1950.

It is my understanding that Alices daughters met and married there partners while Alice herself was instatutionalised, at the request of her mother (that was the day she was seperated from Philip), she did not attend any of the weddings because of this, she was a very smart and clever lady and did not abondon her children,she was taken away because anyone who did not appear normal [she was deaf] in thoes days were removed from society, this happened when she no longer had the support of her husband whome she was quite able to communicate with through lip reading and sign, she spoke four languages and has a great knowalge of the history of the world and an understanding of poor and surffering and people in need, she had no way to care for philip and nowhare to live when she discharged herself from the hospital, which was not the only one she was in and was not the only treatment she recieved, she still recovered from those terrable ordeals and against all odds made a life for herself (be it a little different from the norm, but i think if we went through what she did we may look at things a little differently too) philip had also made a life for himself too and she could not interfear with that. I know tthe outfit was a bit odd looking but she did not (nor did philip) have the same wealth as other royals and she was not about pretence, she always tried to stand her ground, speak her mind and believed in people regardless of the way she was treated, she was not really going to be accepted at that ceramony anyway, so she may as well have gone just as herself, and who was going to listen to her, no one, but she was very proud of her son and i think she had the confidance and courage to be there as her humble self with no shame. She regarded her work as very important, she did,t just save a jewish family, she was a nurse to the solders in the war and spent her life helping others, how many of us can say that. It was Prince Philip who got her remains moved from winsor to jeruselem as were her wishes, i admire this lady and im sure Prince Philip is proud of her, she would never have left him if it had been her own choice, she loved him dearly.

I think its in correct to say Prince Philip had bad parenting skills because of his bad childhood. His own children remember bath times with dad and some of the photographs show his affection and fun nature..

Have just watched the film on Princess Andrew go Greece and Denmark an it has whetted my appetite to read more about this woman and her family. Also have just found your page and will stay reading it as I found many interesting articles, thank you. We could however do with less of Diana, who tried so hard to bring down our monarchy. If not for the 2 boys, she was their mother after all, we should leave Dina in her final resting place at Althorpe and be grateful she cannot do any more damage. She knew what she was doing. Our Queen should have been allowed to protect her grandsons, the publics behavior was disgusting, those 2 boys were put in a position they did not have to be.

can any one tell me if king philip is really from England? does he has a father that is related to him? or is he from a Faraway land? because in Vanuatu roumass has been going around that he is from Tanna……………………………… Thanks……….

Prince Philip never gave up his rudimentary Greek. Since most English and German words come from Greek anyway, he decided to use a more internationally modern language English, as well as a small amount of Greek. Which brings me to my final point and that is the eagerness with which English writers on the royals are always willing to suggest Prince Philip’s disdain for Greece and Greeks when in fact Prince Philip only despises the communists which ruined Greece and not so much the culture or people.To most Greeks he is the quintessential Greek.True he is of Danish German stock but Germans and Danes are Greeks with fairer hair and eyes.

Wow I didn’t know a lot of this information about this poor woman. Here are some things I thought about: mental illness was little understood in the early part of the century. Many men and woman were involuntary committed, sometimes for life, and suffered physical and mental abuse in the “hospitals”. Ice bath, shock treatment, drugs abuse from the doctors. I’m sure even in a very high end treatment center, she still suffered these abuses. Maybe Prince Phillip was the lucky one not to be raised by a mental unstable woman. Gosh knows how he would have been treated being raised by her in an unstable state. He might not have survived the ordeal. Like today we laugh at the hats and outfits some princess wear but the bride and Queen are never upstaged.

Kitty Kelley’s The Royals is an inaccurate portrait and a sensational reading of the Royal Family. My late husband was an equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh and I got to know him very well. The Duke has been an excellent husband to Her Majesty and an excellent father except to Prince Charles whom I think he resents as heir to the throne whereas he has to walk two steps behind his wife, Her Majesty the Queen.

My goodness! To all the people who think this nun was just being weird and seeking to attract attention to herself by wearing her habit to the wedding have no basic understanding of Orthodox monasticism. An Orthodox nun wears her habit all the time, it’s not weird – it’s their norm. It’s not designed to attract attention to herself. If people noted it because it was unusual, that’s fine – but don’t assign such horrid motives – as well as to the fact that she decided to devote herself to helping the poor. It is actually a highly unusual move on her part to honor the Queen’s wishes to dress in something other than her habit, which is really a mark of humility and willingness to please the bride on her wedding day. I suggest you all go visit an Orthodox monastery where you will see that yes, indeed, all of these women wear habits all day long, it’s not done to draw attention to themselves, and they are in fact, completely normal and wonderful people. Don’t be so judgmental and prejudiced against cultures and people and customs you are unfamiliar with. Truly these responses make me sad.

Not quite; having mothered grown children is not an impediment to becoming a nun. However, being married is, so I assume her husband was dead. Of course, I’m not too clear about her actual status as a nun from the comments, but she really sounds as if she merits our charity rather than our disgust. Perhaps it’s her religious bent that seems to have rankled your feathers: that’s how it read to me under it all.

*Attempting to reply to Lisa. 🤦 I just wanted to apologize to you because it seems that people want to pick on every little thing, although UNINTENTIONAL as they may be. Thanks for all you do and share!

Writing as an Orthodox Nun: I know numerous women who, after bearing children and their husbands either dying or separating from them, were accepted into Orthodox Monasticism. Similarly, Orthodox priests, if their wives die or separate from them, must, in Orthodox practice, be monks. They are free to be elected to the episcopacy if they are called. There is no impediment to Orthodox Monasticism implied in having been married and born children.
Previous posters are correct: A nun (including me) doesn’t possess worldly, unmonastic clothes, demure or otherwise; she wears what she wears every day. A nun’s clothing is her ‘uniform’, and like almost all the men in the Coronoation procession, the Princess wore her ‘uniform’. A uniform identifies a person as belonging to some entity: an army, staff of a supermarket, the Church, etc.